tt surface noise reduce or tolerate?

I agree there are LPs with very little surface noise and I have several. It is quite easy to get lost in the music and think how quiet the background is. And then you lift the stylus and feel the slight drop in room pressure.

I believe it would depend on the tape machine used when the master was made. I have some recordings that I've listened to for many years where the tape machine noise has become ingrained as part of the performance. Some I also have a copy on CD and they have the same noise. I don't think they would be the same to me if I ever heard them without it. :-)

I, too, listen to and enjoy both digital and analog formats.

Being relatively new to vinyl, I am now convinced that LP cannot be as quiet as the CD and the best one can do is to 'put up' with the noise and just enjoy the music.

I have bought over 50 new LPs in the past 2 months. Most of them are so-called audiophile records costing $50. I clean all my new records before play, I have a record cleaning machine, but I do more than just record clean. I use 3-step cleaning process using Audio Intelligent Solution, vacuum off the solution at each step, I also use steam-cleaning. It took me about 40 minutes to clean 2 sides. My LP is as clean as it gets.

But does it get rid of ticks and pops? Well, only if the ticks and pops are due to dust/dirt. I found out that the occasional pops/ticks that I'm still hearing is due to the imperfect 'pressing'. For example, one LP - "Debussy: Clair De Lune by Agoult, 45RPM", is just noisy all around, ticks and small pops all over, even though the grooves look prestine. I have brought this LP to try in different setup at friends place, I hear the same kind of noise.

Another LP that I bought: "Ray Brown Trio - Soular Energy, 180g vinyl". Have 4 small successive small pops on track#1 around 4:31 minutes of the song. At first I thought I wouldn't want to tolerate this because it's my favourite song so I returned it for another copy. And guess what, the new copy has exactly the same 4 succesive pops at the same place.

Another LP: "Schumann: Fantasy in C Op. 17, 180g" has unbearable surface noise (no ticks/pops), even though Michael Fremer rated it 11 for sound quality and 11 for music. (http://www.musicangle.com/album.php?id=139)

But overall (and luckily), most of the LPs do not have too many pops/ticks that deprives me from enjoying the music. One of the quietest LP that I have is "Jazz At The Pawnshop, 180g".

Surface noise and all, on some LPs tape hiss is clearly audible. That's why Dolby and DBX processing were invented...before CDs were around.

When I play my ancient Benny Goodman LPs the surface noise is part of the experience. But for quiet classical music it's another story.

Just a Radiohead side note: Don't base any "vinyl quality" decisions on their 45 rpm LPs of "Hail to the Thief." Dead silent but REALLY dead sounding, as in lifeless.